Top 18 Marketing Copy Elements - 1 & 2

Now's the time to Get Your Marketing Copy RIGHT!

I am frequently asked to review copy written by my clients; and I often find that many essential elements are missing. I have worked up a simple list of these elements you should include when you write copy that is designed to get your prospect to buy something or request something you offer as a reason to get them to give you a name, email address and/or address.

I will share my "Must Have" list with you over the next few weeks of posts.

1. Identify the WHO You Are Speaking To: Most all advertising that I see is extremely generic and doesn't call out any specific WHO that company wants to respond. I often find that people give little or no thought to the WHO of marketing. This is the group of businesses, consumers, etc that are most likely to respond and that we want our message to target.

When I bring this up to people the response I often get is: "I don't want to miss anyone that might respond." The truth is that the less targeted you copy the less response you will get. We have proved this over and over again. But, people are still afraid they might miss someone. The broader your message . . . you'll find you receive a smaller percentage of response.

So you must start by specifically deciding who you want this message to target. I am working with a pest control company that wants to sell environmentally friendly bug and varmint control services. We first decided we would target people who are specifically worried about the environment and doing business with green companies that have a certain high level of income.

Now we can acquire a list of those specific people and use this information for the next key element in your marketing copy.

2. Identify the MESSAGE For That Specific WHO: The next big mistake I often see is the MESSAGE is so generic that no one responds. Now that you've identified specifically WHO is most likely to respond, and WHO you want to respond (this is even more critical), you must speak to them in language that hits home with them.

Depending on age, social status, area of the country, psychological influences (psychograpic), stage of life, type of business, industry affiliations, social affiliations, level of education, religious belief status, heritage, etc., you'll need to use different words, illustrations and abbreviations to gain their interest in your product or service.

The words, illustrations, examples, photos, testimonials, proof statements that you use should be predicated on the WHO and what is most likely to cause them to respond.

That's the first two of the eighteen. I'll post the next two in a couple of days.

If you are interested in learning how to use these strategies in more detail, review our website and check out our Small Business Marketing PowerCircle meeting in Albuquerque.
http://www.MarketingStrategiesRx.com